by Rev. Dr John Evans
Since coming to the Church of All Nations I have thought we need to have a text which guides our thinking, and which could be prominently displayed in the Church – say on the glass as people enter the Church, or even on the front wall.
But what text? Possibly one about all “nations” coming to Jerusalem to be one people - comes to mind – say from Isaiah 2. However, in today’s reading I think we have another candidate.
Jesus addresses his anxious and stressed disciples who have this large and hungry, crowd of people, following and wanting to see and hear Jesus in this deserted place. Jesus says these words:
They need not go away; you give them something to eat. (Mt 14:16)
Could that be our text? Is that the challenge for us here . . . meet the needs of this community. We give them something to eat.
What, however, does it mean?
To answer that question we need first to understand the context of this story in Matthew’s gospel.
Jesus has just been told of the death, murder really, of his friend and kinsman John the Baptist at the hands of Herod Antipas. He wants to withdraw – to be by himself. To collect his thoughts. This is not just because of his grief, he is now indeed himself looking at a similar fate: his own death at the hands of the authorities. Perhaps that reality has now hit him. He withdraws. He takes a boat to the other side – some commentators in fact, observe he may have done that at this stage to avoid the reach of Herod. As they say, “the time was not right” for him to meet his death. However, while this internal struggle is going on, the crowds follow him. They want to see him, hear him, to be with him, to be healed by him. They travel around the lake by land and catch up with him. They are after all, like sheep without a shepherd. For Jesus, his mission continues.
Meanwhile, this crowd poses problems and a challenge. The crowd is desperate to be with Jesus. Unthinkingly, they get swept along in the excitement of the moment and we have a crowd control issue. Perhaps they had forgotten basic requirements like food and other needs when they were so far from the towns. (Of course, as some suggest, perhaps they don’t forget their food, and it is only when the small offering of bread and fish is blessed, they then bring it out.) Whatever – but the disciples saw there was a problem looming. Perhaps they saw a nasty incident developing – even a riot. They go to Jesus.
The disciples, not unreasonably, want the crowd dismissed. The potential problems over such a large number, especially over feeding them, was not their problem. They present a very rational case to Jesus.
“This is a deserted place, and the hour is now late; send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.”
We might say, the risk-management approach. They have assessed the situation, a problem looms, let us endeavour to minimise the risk – and after all, it is their own fault, not ours.
Jesus does not do what they request of him; and at this point here, is our possible Church of All Nations text:
They need not go away; you give them something to eat.
Now in response, and to their credit, the disciples make an attempt at feeding the crowd. We don’t really know whether this attempt was quite outstanding – were they able to cobble together 5 loaves and two fish, from virtually nothing? Or really they didn’t try very hard? Whatever. They just had five loaves and two fish – and they bring them to Jesus.
At this point we should reflect on our own situation. There is great need here, sometimes literally hunger, in our midst. The need of our community – the needs of the people living next door, on the estate – or around in our community – is large. As we have observed previously – are they not like sheep without a shepherd? And our response – in the grand scheme of things it is not very substantial; there is just a few of us; we endeavour to respond with our various programs. I think we in fact do it quite well. Perhaps a bit like 5 loaves and 2 fish in comparison to the need. Our response is small.
But back to our story. . . because it begins to take on mythic, highly symbolic, even miraculous proportions, from this point onwards.
Jesus uses this effort – puny and insignificant though it is – and in a scene reminiscent of the last supper, he blesses this food. What does he do? Note the verbs: he takes the bread (actually the fish seem to drop out of the story from this point on), looks up to heaven, blesses the bread, breaks the loaves, and then gives them to the crowds. Well, the rest is history.
It is amazing – all are fed and there is even enough for each disciple to collect a basket of leftovers. There is abundance. Not only is the crowd fed food – and the crowd control crisis is thereby averted – we must assume there is spiritual food shared. The crowd receives – even at this point while Jesus is alive – something from him: a foretaste of the heavenly banquet; a sign of God’s love.
And for us there is a significant pattern and a challenge in this story.
Often, or perhaps most of the time, we are like the disciples when we face difficulties, seemingly insurmountable difficulties. It is always someone else’s fault or problem – we blame the victim. I, personally, find it very difficult to cope when a business or government authority makes a mistake or is delayed, whatever – and no one is prepared to take responsibility. ‘I am sorry your widget is not ready, sir, even though we said it would be here last week – it is the supplier’s fault, or that is another section’s responsibility – not ours. Yes, we are a part of the same organisation, but it is their responsibility.’ (Try to get a telephone connected!) Buck passing.
Or alternatively, we look at a situation – let us say global warming, or church decline or the dodgy state of our own health – and we end up being paralysed by the enormity of the task or the situation, a sense of despair descends, we become devoid of hope – we can give up. We want someone else to take the action – ‘Jesus, you send them away.’
Our story begins with the problem. The disciples spend – it would seem – a bit of time analysing the problem. This is a deserted place; it’s late. When problems are big we also spend a lot of time analysing them. The Uniting Church, may I suggest, has spent too much time analysing its various problems, instead of getting on with the mission of God. Governments, corporations also spend too much time reviewing, analysing before actually getting on and delivering the service, making the widgets, and the like.
The disciples here put the problem back on the crowd and wanted Jesus to send them away “to buy” their own food. Jesus has nothing of it. So our text again:
‘They need not go away; you give them something to eat.’
Jesus forces the disciples to have some responsibility in this situation. ‘You give them something to eat.’ Much is made in trying to understand this miracle of the crowd suddenly producing their previously hidden food and all having more that enough. Perhaps. But really the miracle begins much earlier with the disciples actually changing their minds from whinging about how it is all too hard, and then doing something – even if it is only a very little or seemingly insignificant amount. Five loaves and two fish. It’s reminiscent of the previous chapter of parables about mustard seeds and yeast – the growing and spreading kingdom of God. Jesus takes not just the five loaves and two fish – and hey presto, a miracle – he takes the efforts of the disciples, and with the blessing of God, builds on them – and all are fed . . . in more ways than one.
For us here in Carlton – we have a challenge, not a problem.
There is food we can share. Indeed we use bags and bags of it – but these bags are just a few loaves in the face of the need. But here is the challenge.
We come today to the sacrament of Holy Communion – where we receive food for the journey as the Basis of Union says; where we recall God’s great love to us shown in Christ – we remember his death on the cross and the promise of new life.
Do we share more than bread – is it also food for the kingdom we also provide?
What do you think, is “They need not go away; you give them something to eat” a good text for us?
